The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is responsible for a myriad of animal agriculture oversight duties, but they often fail to protect animals or the safety of our food supply.
On Monday, the New York Times exposed some of the cruelest, most gruesome animal abuse on US soil including death by rape and starvation (as reported in the Huffington Post), only for readers to find out that the abuse was TAXPAYER funded and initiated by the USDA.
Farm Sanctuary, a leader in animal welfare protection summarized this abuse saying:
The facts and eyewitness accounts uncovered by the Times are gut-wrenching. In just one particularly gruesome experiment recounted from the Times story, a teenage cow had her “head locked in a cagelike device to keep her immobile.” She was raped by as many as six bulls for hours, until her back legs were broken and her body was “torn apart,” and she died.
This situation is so dire and horrific, that all animal advocates — from cats and dogs lovers to vegans — must speak out right now! Here’s what to do. Please do all these items (they don’t take long):
- Make a call to USDA’s Secretary Vilsack’s office during business hours and explain how outraged you are. Tell them to close the U.S. Meat Animal Research Center immediately. The direct line to reach his office is 202-720-3631. They may also give you an email address to email them, but insist that you can leave a message for the Secretary.
- Email your congressperson TODAY. You can contact your representatives by visiting the Farm Sanctuary action tool. Ask your representatives to “Close the U.S. Meat Animal Research Center”
- Read The Humane Society of the United States blog on this issue about the US agro-industrial complex and why this abuse happened. Use the HSUS action alert tool in addition to the Farm Sanctuary action too.
- Ask all your family and friends to take these actions as well — because we can only expect an immediate stop to this abuse if we all speak up.
The New York Times posted letters expressing the outrage of the public on this issues, include a letter for The Humane Society of the United State’s CEO, Wayne Pacelle saying:
The grotesque and inhumane experiments performed on pigs, sheep and other farm animals at an obscure and secluded Agriculture Department research facility in Nebraska demonstrate the unholy collusion between government and industry in driving production on factory farms and in the process treating animals like machines and throwaway objects. Apparently, it’s not enough to confine farm animals for their entire lives in windowless buildings and in cages and crates on factory farms. We are also engineering them to grow at absurdly fast rates and to produce inordinately large litters, which often cause misery and death for the animals.
In addition to speaking out, you need to boycott the the meat, dairy and egg industry. Think of the chickens, cows, pigs and sheep who have suffered at the hands of the USDA and the meat industry. Those animals deserve your boycott of the agro-industry that hurt them.
If you do eat animal products ensure that 100% of the meat and eggs you buy are from suppliers that attempt to provide the highest animal welfare standards (as confirmed by animal welfare advocates). Note that there is NO SUCH THING as more humane dairy — so avoid dairy at all costs. The dairy industry is inherently abusive to cows.
Thank you for speaking up for animals at this critical junction in US history!
Christie Lagally 